📖 Meaning
A metaphor for a person who studies with great diligence and devotion. It originates from the image of a scholar reading a book hung on an ox's horn while riding. It praises those who pursue learning tirelessly regardless of their circumstances.
📜 Origin Story
During the Sui Dynasty, Li Mi—who would later play a key role in the founding of the Tang Dynasty—rode an ox draped with a straw saddle. He hung a scroll of the 'Book of Han' (汉书) on one of the ox's horns and read as he traveled. The story is recorded in the 'New Book of Tang, Biography of Li Mi' (《新唐书·李密传》). The Song Dynasty poet Liu Kezhuang later immortalized this image in his ci poem 'Qinyuanchun—Answering Ye Xianliang of Jiuhua.'
💡 Example Usage
学子们以牛角书生为榜样，勤奋读书。
Students look up to the ox-horn scholar as a role model and study diligently.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 牛角书生
- Pinyin: niú jiǎo shū shēng
- Literal Translation: ox, horn, book, scholar
- Category: Learning
- Characters: 4